The Herald's latest series: The Future of Clyde Fishing

There’s no doubt that the Firth, stretching from a southern boundary between Mull of Kintyre and Coreswall point, past Arran and up through the sea lochs, Fyne and Long, is not what it once was. Centuries ago the towns around its shores would see landings of wide varieties of fish, from herring to haddock to cod to turbot. Now, chiefly, the fishery is langoustine, otherwise known as nephrops, much of which is exported to France and other European countries.

Walk into a fish shop in Largs, or an Ayrshire chippy, and the fish bought there will mostly be from the North Sea, landed at Peterhead, partly because that’s how the system works in terms of processing and the fish market, but also because some fish are not there in the numbers they once were. Only the langoustines, if (as I was)  you’re lucky, will be local.

We also chose the Firth of Clyde because it is among our most researched and documented waters, and, a sea on the doorstep of Glasgow, familiar to many. Fifteen years ago, a landmark report by Ruth Thurstan and Callum Roberts, warned it could become “a marine desert” and was already “a marine ecosystem nearing the endpoint of overfishing”.

The year after, the Scottish Government published its own Ecosystem Review which put the problem in more moderate terms, describing the Firth as like “used agricultural land in need of restoration”, but nevertheless acknowledging the “dramatic decline” in whitefish.

The Clyde is also the focus of some efforts at recovery. It’s home to the Lamlash Bay No Take Zone, the first community-led Marine Reserve of its kind in Scotland, from which no fish or shellfish can be taken. The sea is the site too of an area of seasonal closure, the Clyde cod box, which excludes fishing in areas in which the fish spawn.

A scallop dredger

This closure, extended two years ago to include a ban on trawlers, and creelers, is one of the Clyde’s most controversial measures.

In this series, we’ll look at the evidence backing the closure, as well as the impact its sudden imposition has had on individual trawlermen and creelers.

Former Arran resident, James McEnaney visits the South Arran Marine Protected Area and the visitor centre set up by The Community of Arran Seabed Trust and looks at the impact the no take zone is having on fish inside and outside its limits. Sandra Dick delves into archives, trawling up tales of Clyde fishing, and abundance, past.

Fishermen’s associations will put forth their views, and NGOs will argue their case. We’ll hear from scientists, fishers and campaigners about the health of marine wildlife and fisheries, and paint a portrait of marine and fish health through maps and data.

In this time of global biodiversity crisis, the Clyde tells a local and powerful story. Research tells us that it is no longer home to the biodiversity it once was. Can we improve it? Are protection measures bringing life back? Will the Clyde cod swim in the vast numbers they once did?

Is there enough scientific research to back policy and enough funding to back the science? Are fishermen, with their wealth of knowledge, being listened to enough in the search for answers? Could some of the answers lie in a more community-based and 'bottom up' approach?

Everyone, including the fishing industry,  is on the hunt for answers. The Future of Clyde Fishing looks for the big ideas from fishermen, marine biologists, campaigners and politicians. It asks if these groups can work together to save and protect the life of the Clyde.

Can the Firth of Clyde be a story of recovery and abundance regained? And what can we learn from it when looking at all Scotland's seas?

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